1 option
Chevrah Agudas Achim charter, bylaws, and records ledger, 1897-1953.
חברת אגודת אחים אישור, חוקי עזר, ופנקס חשבונות
Library at the Katz Center - Archives Room CAJS Rar Ms 567
Available in person
Request an item
Access options
- Format:
- Book
- Manuscript
- Author/Creator:
- Chevrah Agudas Achim - Israel Brotherhood Society (Lowell, Massachusetts), issuing body.
- Language:
- English
- Hebrew
- Yiddish
- Subjects (All):
- Brotherhoods--Massachusetts--Lowell--19th century.
- Brotherhoods.
- Brotherhoods--Massachusetts--Lowell--20th century.
- Jewish cemeteries--New Hampshire--Pelham.
- Jewish cemeteries.
- By-laws.
- Jews--Massachusetts--Lowell--19th century--History--Sources.
- Jews.
- Jews--Massachusetts--Lowell--20th century--History--Sources.
- Genre:
- Codices (bound manuscripts)
- calligraphy (visual works)
- charters.
- ledgers (account books)
- pen and ink drawings.
- Penn Provenance:
- Inscribed and stamped by "Chaim Goldmann, á Saffed (Palestine), via Beyrouth, - Syrien" (front flyleaf; his "לזכרון" on this manuscript and on); Goldmann (Slavuta, Ukraine 1852-Safed 1920?), a rabbinical emissary who stayed in the United States circa 1900-7, later principal of the Yeshiva of Jacob David ben Zeʼev Willowski in Safed; possibly a relative of the Goldman brothers of Lowell.
- Sold by Jacob Djmal, 2021.
- Physical Description:
- 1 item (148 leaves) : paper ; 345 x 215 mm + 1 note.
- Place of Publication:
- 1897-1953.
- תרנ"ז-תשי"ג.
- Language Note:
- In Yiddish (in Hebrew and Latin alphabets); calligraphic charter portion partially in Hebrew (f. 1r-7v); certain lines in English.
- Biography/History:
- Lowell Jews worked mostly in textile mills on the Merrimack River and formed the Israel Brotherhood Society for welfare for Jewish factory workers recently emigrated from Russia, and to negotiate a plot of land for a cemetery (Montefiore-Israel Brotherhood Cemetery, a five acre plot in Pelham, New Hampshire, granted after Jews were barred from burial in Lowell); among the founding members were Rabbi Elias Wolfson (1859?-1928, Lowell rabbi and mohel), Goldman brothers (clothing merchants from Russia; family of Frank Goldman, 1890-1965, president of B'nai B'rith 1947-53, vice-chairman of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, known as advisor to President Truman to support the 1947 Partition of Palestine).
- Summary:
- This is the manuscript pinkas of the Chevrah Agudas Achim - Israel Brotherhood Society, a Jewish brotherhood in Lowell, Massachusetts. The charter and bylaws were drawn in 1897, and occupy the first seven leaves of the manuscript; included in the articles of the creation of the brotherhood were the appointment of a president, presiding members, a treasurer, a secretary, trustees, and the creation of three funds (expense fund, death fund, and sickness fund; f. 3v); benefits included financial support during illness, a hearse carriage to be used for funerals for a member's family, doctor's visits, and visits by two members in case a member is bedridden. The entries documenting meetings begin at the opposite end, first entry dated August 2, 1925 (f. 146v), with monthly meetings occurring in the Hebrew Free School, or Talmud Torah hall; most entries state officers present, election or installation of officers, expenses (often rent, cemetery upkeep, assistance for elderly members), motions denied or agreed to, and additional related information. Written in an Eastern European cursive script; Yinglish (American English-Yiddish hybrid, for example, "Der monatlicher meeting foon de Chevrah Agudas Achim iz opgehalten gevoren in de Anshe Sfard Shul mit ale officers"; f. 13v) portion at f.9v-15r; the entry on May 31, 1953 "was unanimously passed that, from now in the minutes were to be written in English" (f. 8v). Founding charter and bylaws in decorated gold and silver calligraphic initials, with additional highlights in red; red and silver designs in dots and triangles (f. 5r).
- Local Notes:
- Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Margolies Judaica Fund.
- Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Busch Endowed Judaica Fund.
- Cited as:
- UPenn CAJS Rar Ms 567.
- OCLC:
- 1334733684
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.